Africans have been making their presence known in cycling's top races for more than a decade, but a new milestone will be reached when the 2025 UCI Road World Championships start in Rwanda on Sunday.
The first rider in the women's individual time trial setting off from the BK Arena in the heart of Kigali will mark a crucial moment - the first time a World Championships has been staged on the continent since this particular event began in 1921 in Sweden.
For Kim Le Court, who became the first African to wear the leader's yellow jersey in the Tour de France Femmes this year, competing will be "really special".
"To be on the start line of the very first World Championships in Africa, in my Mauritius jersey, is something I never imagined I would get to experience," she told BBC Sport Africa.
"It is bigger than me. It is about showing that riders from small nations can be part of these historic moments."
There will be 13 different events, split between time trials and road races and with gender parity, in three different age categories - junior, under-23 and elite - over the course of eight days of competition.
When Rwanda was confirmed as host in 2021, the call went out to the continent's 54 cycling federations to ensure they began planning, selecting and preparing young riders to ensure the best possible African participation.
Around 150 male and female riders currently compete as professional cyclists, including nearly a dozen at the very top level, with Eritrea, South Africa, Algeria, Mauritius and Morocco the leading five nations on the UCI's Africa Tour.
However, the topography of Rwanda, known as the land of a thousand hills, means that the courses will not suit some of Africa's star names.